Administrator Plugs Hiring-freeze Loophole

April 16, 1991|By LARRY BARSZEWSKI, Staff Writer

Some department heads may have found a way around Palm Beach County`s hiring freeze by hiring temporary workers to fill vacant positions, but County Administrator Jan Winters has ordered the practice stopped.

Winters said using contracted employees to fill the frozen positions would defeat the purpose of the Jan. 7 freeze and would diminish the projected budget savings.

The temporary positions should be used to replace workers on maternity leave or other emergencies, Winters said.

Purchasing officials had requested an increase in the $307,000 budgeted for temporary workers this year because it looked like more money would be needed, Purchasing Director John Weyrauch said. That alerted budget officials, who approached Winters.

``Maybe this is a loophole,`` Winters said. ``There could be a potential problem.``

Winters sent a memo to department and division directors on Friday, saying that departments wishing to hire temporary help must go through the same review process as officials seeking to fill necessary positions.

``There has to be some allowance,`` Winters said, ``especially for health and safety.``

During the last three months, Deputy County Administrator Vince Bonvento has approved requests to fill 87 positions, personnel record show. Of those, 52 are paid from property-tax revenues and 35 from fee-generated funds, such as water-utility fees.

Personnel Director Brad Merriman said that during the same period in a normal year more than 200 positions would have been filled.